The "modeling" part of being a model is fabulous. It is a great creative outlet, it is fun and comes easy to some people. Regularly taking part in creating awesome images makes it a rewarding job where you get regular positive feedback. Many jobs don't offer this.

The most difficult part of being a freelance model is that you are the CEO of your own business. But wait...then you find out you are also the vice-president of marketing, the vice-president of finance, the vice-president of operations, the vice-president of maintenance, vice-president of travel, and the vice-president of customer service. You are everything from the clerk who answers the mail to the star of the show, and usually all in one day.

The difficulty for many models in maintaining a long and successful career is that they either don't have the time-management skills, business knowledge/experience and the drive be do all those required parts of the job, or they have no desire to do those things. It isn't that they are incapable of doing it, I think it is that it isn't as enjoyable as it first seemed.

It seems a lot easier in the beginning than what the reality is. Everyone wants to shoot the new girl, but developing a great reputation, earning repeat work and staying relevant in order to maintain longevity is another ball game.

MoRina wrote: Everyone wants to shoot the new girl, but developing a great reputation, earning repeat work and staying relevant in order to maintain longevity is another ball game.

Also, to add to what Mo said, repeat customers are a successful model's go-to resource, and in order to have ENOUGH repeat customers to keep going, you have to make sure your looks are as marketable to a wide variety of people as possible.

Sometimes that means being willing to, for example, wear your hair long when you really want to cut it short, or get cosmetic surgery when it's not something you care too much about normally, in order to make your look more "accessible" or appealing.

People will try to claim that is not an accurate assessment, but I modeled consistently for along enough to know that it IS true, for many people.

i'm just commenting on what i see happening with the local models (and not just a couple, this happens with a lot of them). they tend to go in and out of being available depending on the man currently in their life. when that man disappears suddenly they are available again. at least until the next man.

regarding photographers judging from your # of posts you've probably read the forums the same way i have. the photographers are usually like "she gave me grief so i dumped her" or "i won't let a woman cramp my style" whereas the models are trying to figure out how to convince their boyfriends to play along (while many of the photographers say "dump him"). just seems like the male solution is "dump them" more often than not.

Hmm...I bet I am not the only model that has had red faced photographers on the phone to their wife saying 'yes darling I shall be home shortly it's taken me ages to finish that wedding book' when they have been shooting me all day.

twoharts wrote: i'm just commenting on what i see happening with the local models (and not just a couple, this happens with a lot of them). they tend to go in and out of being available depending on the man currently in their life. when that man disappears suddenly they are available again. at least until the next man.

regarding photographers judging from your # of posts you've probably read the forums the same way i have. the photographers are usually like "she gave me grief so i dumped her" or "i won't let a woman cramp my style" whereas the models are trying to figure out how to convince their boyfriends to play along (while many of the photographers say "dump him"). just seems like the male solution is "dump them" more often than not.

the wife and i do all the shoots together. otherwise that would probably be me, too

i had a model show me some shots she had done with another photographer and i was like "does his wife know about those shots?" she just smiled.

Eliza C wrote: Hmm...I bet I am not the only model that has had red faced photographers on the phone to their wife saying 'yes darling I shall be home shortly it's taken me ages to finish that wedding book' when they have been shooting me all day.

same problem for us photographers. at the end of the day i'm tired but know that i have to do some data entry into quicken for the week's receipts and expenses or i get hopelessly behind. it never ends. you need a lot of stamina and have to really want it bad in order to keep going.

for me it's ok when i'm making the big bucks. when i'm doing it for peanuts that's when i start to feel less passion.

MoRina wrote: The most difficult part of being a freelance model is that you are the CEO of your own business. But wait...then you find out you are also the vice-president of marketing, the vice-president of finance, the vice-president of operations, the vice-president of maintenance, vice-president of travel, and the vice-president of customer service. You are everything from the clerk who answers the mail to the star of the show, and usually all in one day.

On Reality TV the young hopefuls "endure" a few episodes of abuse and "work" to get discovered and become famous.

Not so in reality, in the Real World.

Additionally, many models don't really see it as a career path but simply a pass time instead. Something to brag about on their FB page and maybe remember fondly as they age, after having kids and "settling down".

Lots of reasons, I think but chief among them being that they expect it to be very lucrative, which it's not except for the very few, and because they expect it to be fun, which, in all too many cases it isn't.

Some photographers are so tied up in the technical side of things that they forget that there's a human side. But whether they could make standing around, half to wholly naked in a drafty home studio fun enough to entice the model to do it again may be a bit of a problem though, no matter how simpatico they may be.

JOEL McDONALD wrote: Simple, modeling is far tougher than it looks on ANTM.

On Reality TV the young hopefuls "endure" a few episodes of abuse and "work" to get discovered and become famous.

Not so in reality, in the Real World.

Additionally, many models don't really see it as a career path but simply a pass time instead. Something to brag about on their FB page and maybe remember fondly as they age, after having kids and "settling down".

That is a rather sexist remark. I have no intention of having kids and settling down and I think you will find rather a lot of models are just as career minded.

We don't see it as a career path simply because long term there is no future in it.
It is a short term thing. You can't model when you are sixty except in rare circumstances but you can be at the top flight say in a legal, accountacy, political, journalism, science, or even photography field. Or did you conveniently forget photographers are not exclusively male? Or that models are not exclusively female? It is infuriating to think you see models as just killing time before having kids!!!!

Also it doesn't mean modelling is just a pastime or something to brag about: many of us take it very seriously because the vision of those that employ us depends on our commitment to it. And those of us that have made a living from it have done so because of that. We come second to the vision: it is the art, the clothes, the photography that we have contributed to creating that are important not us.

I started at 25 as a plus size model so that was 10 years ago. I still model from time to time. But with me life just happened. 4 years in to it and model was going really strong for me. My grandmother who was one of my biggest supporter of my model was diagnosed with terminal Cervical cancer. Modeling had to go on the back burner due to the fact that I had to take care of her. Once she past I went to a dark place for a while. Modeling just here in there. Though some of my great friends I meet doing modeling they encouraged me to get in to do make up and coaching young girls that want to get in to it. So I'm still in the industry just in a different way.

I modelled on here for around 7 years and have recently given up after having no success at getting a shoot to happen for almost a year. The reason I gave up because my confidence went down the drain. All I seemed to get was offers for TF from people who had extremely ordinary folios and who had nothing to offer in regards to contributing to the shoot ie "wanna shoot? Do you have any ideas?". But because i love modelling and liked to think i could do something to help their folio I'd say yes (lets be honest after 7 years I really don't need more pictures!) but then on top of that then they'd pick a day sometime the following week which I keep free, I'd contact them 3 days before to confirm essentail details like time and location and get crickets.
Or they'd want me to travel 4 hours each way for a nude shoot (again after 7 years I don't need images, let alone naked for the sake of being naked shots which the majority of "art nudes" are these days) And lets face it theres no gurantee of good images, or even any images from a TF soot. I'm not gambling 10 hours of my time for a few pictures at best.

In the end I figured I must have sucked as a model because photographers seemed to place no value on me, and there are more fun ways to have fun than to re-arranging my week for flaky photographers who have no clue and dump me at the last moment.

I blame the TF = no investment nothing lost attitude.

Funnily enough after I stopped i got photographers telling me I was the best model they ever worked with. And also ones who complained they always wanted to work with me but never got around to it, or better yet- I was "too good" for them (I guess they mean they assumed I was too expensive).

Lets see, find god, have kids, get married, get a steady paycheck, discover drugs and/or alcohol, live with Hef, get involved with porn, date famous athlete or actor. You can mix and match as you please.

CBAPhoto wrote: It's a "passion" as long as someone is telling them how great they look and how wonderful their photos look. As soon as those aspects start to taper and the facts of modeling start settling in, mainly that it's actually a lot of work, their "passion" is easily swayed in another direction.

Their problem is two-fold: They're not fully aware of what "passion" really is, nor are they aware of what modeling really is.

Lots of folks try lots of jobs/careers before they settle down to one. Modeling is no different.

I think a lot of beginning models are poorly informed about what the real job is like. Folks dont just line up to hand you beautiful clothes and trips to exotic locales for shoots. The shoots themselves are a LOT more hard work than some beginners believe. The models that last are those that catch on quickly to the realities of marketing, job selection, and really hard work.

The photographers, on the other hand, ~usually have more experience with cameras -before- they start shooting models, so they have had time to decide they actually do like photography long term---and if they stop shooting models, they can stay photographers shooting landscapes or still lifes or whatever.

So the comparison is is kinda apples and oranges. Way different starting points, way different exits.

That is a rather sexist remark. I have no intention of having kids and settling down and I think you will find rather a lot of models are just as career minded.

We don't see it as a career path simply because long term there is no future in it.
It is a short term thing. You can't model when you are sixty except in rare circumstances but you can be at the top flight say in a legal, accountacy, political, journalism, science, or even photography field. Or did you conveniently forget photographers are not exclusively male? Or that models are not exclusively female? It is infuriating to think you see models as just killing time before having kids!!!!

Also it doesn't mean modelling is just a pastime or something to brag about: many of us take it very seriously because the vision of those that employ us depends on our commitment to it. And those of us that have made a living from it have done so because of that. We come second to the vision: it is the art, the clothes, the photography that we have contributed to creating that are important not us.

That was not a sexist remark. We are talking about a question that has lots of true answers. The word many does not mean most. Like the group of blind men trying to describe an elephant, your answer and his are not mutually exclusive.

Eliza C wrote: That is a rather sexist remark. I have no intention of having kids and settling down and I think you will find rather a lot of models are just as career minded.

We don't see it as a career path simply because long term there is no future in it.
It is a short term thing. You can't model when you are sixty except in rare circumstances but you can be at the top flight say in a legal, accountacy, political, journalism, science, or even photography field. Or did you conveniently forget photographers are not exclusively male? Or that models are not exclusively female? It is infuriating to think you see models as just killing time before having kids!!!!

Also it doesn't mean modelling is just a pastime or something to brag about: many of us take it very seriously because the vision of those that employ us depends on our commitment to it. And those of us that have made a living from it have done so because of that. We come second to the vision: it is the art, the clothes, the photography that we have contributed to creating that are important not us.

Wasn't meant to be sexist.

You missed my point; That being, Modeling is tougher than MANY (newbies mainly) think when they first get into it. And that SOME (newbies mainly) just do it for a short time for the ability to say they did it or THEY (newbies mainly) lose interest because of the amount of hard work that actually goes into it.

That was not a sexist remark. We are talking about a question that has lots of true answers. The word many does not mean most. Like the group of blind men trying to describe an elephant, your answer and his are not mutually exclusive.

landofy wrote: I modelled on here for around 7 years and have recently given up after having no success at getting a shoot to happen for almost a year. The reason I gave up because my confidence went down the drain. All I seemed to get was offers for TF from people who had extremely ordinary folios and who had nothing to offer in regards to contributing to the shoot ie "wanna shoot? Do you have any ideas?". But because i love modelling and liked to think i could do something to help their folio I'd say yes (lets be honest after 7 years I really don't need more pictures!) but then on top of that then they'd pick a day sometime the following week which I keep free, I'd contact them 3 days before to confirm essentail details like time and location and get crickets.
Or they'd want me to travel 4 hours each way for a nude shoot (again after 7 years I don't need images, let alone naked for the sake of being naked shots which the majority of "art nudes" are these days) And lets face it theres no gurantee of good images, or even any images from a TF soot. I'm not gambling 10 hours of my time for a few pictures at best.

In the end I figured I must have sucked as a model because photographers seemed to place no value on me, and there are more fun ways to have fun than to re-arranging my week for flaky photographers who have no clue and dump me at the last moment.

I blame the TF = no investment nothing lost attitude.

Funnily enough after I stopped i got photographers telling me I was the best model they ever worked with. And also ones who complained they always wanted to work with me but never got around to it, or better yet- I was "too good" for them (I guess they mean they assumed I was too expensive).

This is an interesting post.

I've read this sort of statement from a number of folks (models, photogs, etc.) that think being on MM will make them much money. I see it less as a direct money maker and more a way to network and find resources to offer to my clients, existing and new, who actually DO pay for our creative services. A sort of Linkedin.com for our industry.

I wonder if many Models, as well as some photogs, MUAHs have lost the art of actually knocking on doors themselves. Seeing an ad or promo for a local store or business and walking in to ask to talk to whomever hires models for their ads and promotions.

Luke Ryan Photography wrote: I have talked to alot of models and read alot of models portfolios and they often talk about how modeling is a "passion" for them.

However, it seems to me that most models really only engage in modeling for 1-3 years and then stop.

Photographers on the other hand seem to be into photograpy for life.

I think a huge portion of this issue may actually be on the photographers and the industry in general, at least for some models, at least in a way. Many photographers prefer to work with young (18 to 25, maybe 29 max), pretty, slender or fit female models. The industry standards narrow this down even more for things like fashion and such. If a model does not fit this, or no longer fits it, she may give up no matter how passionate she is because nobody wants to shoot with her.

Similarly, I think some models might be really popular for a time, but then people lose interest in shooting the model. Some photographers really only like to shoot with an individual model once or twice, which means eventually the model may run out of shoots to do if she cannot travel and is in a small-ish area.

Some models also set goals that end up not being something they can accomplish and that can be discouraging. They might also just feel like things have gone stagnant in that they keep shooting the same thing over and over and over and they have lost interest. Some models are happy to shoot similar things, but some do get bored.

I think life also affects things. This could include boyfriends or relationships, pregnancy, kids, parents or other family, a job, health, etc.

Photography is a little more expansive in some ways. Photographers are not limited by their age or appearance (at least not generally, I know some people will nit pick that). Photography also is a bit more generally accepted than at least many types of modeling. As a photographer you can shoot a ton of things besides models like events, weddings, kids and families, nature, products, architecture, and so on. As a photographer you also can improve your skills and style. As a model you are somewhat limited to your body, though you can change somethings.

Hmm...I bet I am not the only model that has had red faced photographers on the phone to their wife saying 'yes darling I shall be home shortly it's taken me ages to finish that wedding book' when they have been shooting me all day.

It is difficult but not impossible to maintain a healthy marriage/relationship in this line of work.

There are very few models on this site that I would say model for a living and do nothing else to supplement their income.

For me, it was a hobby and allowed me to learn a lot about photography which I was also doing. I got to meet and work with a lot of great people. Some I still talk to and occasionally work with. I tried picking it back up again but found that things had seemed to change in the last few years and I wasn't feeling up to all the stress that can come with it.

I'm at a stage in my life where the question, "is it worth it?" comes up A LOT. When it comes down to it, most of the time it isn't. Sometimes I will take up an offer for a shoot but that is rarely.

I stay on this site simply to hang out in the forums. I've met a lot of great people so staying on here makes it easier to keep track of them and their work. And hey, maybe one day I will take it seriously again.

I did not read through the thread honestly, but some factors that models have told me are:

-couldn't get published
-their bf's would not let them model any longer
-found religion
-got a new career
-didn't make any money
-went back to school
-found a different hobby
etc..etc..etc.

I think that a lot of people that "want" to be models are drawn in by the lure of the glamorous lifestyle that is very misleading when you see media. They think "I wish I could do that", or someone tells them that they are pretty and should model. The common mistake that most people make when they think they want to model or are told that they should model is trying to do it themselves. As someone else mentioned in the few posts above mine, it is running your own business. Some might have the look and stats for modeling, but suck at running their own business.

In this respect, if anyone is considering modeling, it is often better to take very basic polaroids or shots with a reputable photographer, and try to pitch to agencies from the get go. At least you will know if you have what it takes or not, and you will save a couple years of frustration by finding out sooner rather than later unless you are just in it for a creative outlet only which is fine too.

Simple unrealistic expectations ... the models I know that are making a living at it are very professional at managing schedules, market themselves and constantly networking. Modeling, just like any other profession involves hard work Bottom-line, it take a lot more than a pretty face or great body to be successful ... and yes life does happen too

The same goes for photographer. There's a whole bunch of guys that get "GAS" gear acquisition syndrome for y'all that don't know, and never make any money at photography, and eventually sell their shinny new gear after it has sat on the shelf and collected a lot of dust

MoRina wrote: The "modeling" part of being a model is fabulous. It is a great creative outlet, it is fun and comes easy to some people. Regularly taking part in creating awesome images makes it a rewarding job where you get regular positive feedback. Many jobs don't offer this.

The most difficult part of being a freelance model is that you are the CEO of your own business. But wait...then you find out you are also the vice-president of marketing, the vice-president of finance, the vice-president of operations, the vice-president of maintenance, vice-president of travel, and the vice-president of customer service. You are everything from the clerk who answers the mail to the star of the show, and usually all in one day.

The difficulty for many models in maintaining a long and successful career is that they either don't have the time-management skills, business knowledge/experience and the drive be do all those required parts of the job, or they have no desire to do those things. It isn't that they are incapable of doing it, I think it is that it isn't as enjoyable as it first seemed.

It seems a lot easier in the beginning than what the reality is. Everyone wants to shoot the new girl, but developing a great reputation, earning repeat work and staying relevant in order to maintain longevity is another ball game.

This is a excellent response! There is always work for beautiful women. However it requires some effort, networking, responding to serious offers and marketing. I've been at shoots where MM models have been hired for paid work and they didn't show or call to cancel. One of those same models popped up in a thread to bemoan the lack of paid work she got. Hey, freaking show up and maybe folks can pay you. Stunning to me is for example the ideal that some have that they shouldn't provide a phone number for clients. Get a pay as you go phone or use the free Google voice app but people are going to at some point usually require a working number if only to verify shoots.

Freelance models can do very well but it requires effort and sadly that's not something a lot of models want to do. Before anybody comes at me about how dedicated they are or that some goof sent them some nasty messages or video. Women get hit on at clubs, work and walking down the street. Does that stop them from doing those things? If you want to make this a career then make the effort. It can be done. I know short models who do well. A very average looking girl on Facebook did a billboard a few months past. Hustle, return calls and emails. Make sure your book is current. Be friendly and respectful. Read books on modelling. One of the female models here has a great one.

So sad to me is that so many attractive women could make some decent part time or full time money if they just put in some real effort.

I've been shooting for a few years now and seen quite a few models come and go and would summarise the reasons to give up modelling thusly

1/ Unrealistic expectations. These are the "next top model" dreamers/ $600 a shoot types who even if with some looks & talent are unwilling to put in a fraction of the work a model needs.

2/ "What the hell was I thinking?" One's attitudes are often volatile as a teen and these are the ones who will happily do explicit for a buck and a half then have terrible feelings of remorse and join the Promise Givers or similar.

3/ Getting nowhere fast. These are the Models who decide to give it a try but for various reasons don't really get out of the time for print or basic shoot rut, so they go off and do something more profitable.

4/ Market dries up. In many places there are only so many photographers you can work with and after initial success the shoots get thin on the ground

5/ Been there done that. For some modelling is something to worn for a while and then discarded, especially if the Model has a new career to embark on or some life project to carry out.

6/ Photographers are such bastards. Dealing with ratbags can soon sour your enthuisiasm for any task and modelling is no exception.

7/ Family/Partner says no. Disapproval pressure of family, friends or partners can be very strong.

8/ This isn't what I expected. The simple grind of doing modelling as a job, esp with the other factors listed here, may make people pack it in after a while

I model as a hobby, not as a job, so I come and go. I am hyper-aware that I am too short to ever be considered for major editorial work, though I can get a job as a stand-in if I so choose. It's a hobby for me like anything else is: knitting, singing, cosplay.

Photography, cinematography, and writing are my true passions. I'd feel extremely resentful if a SO said, "You can't do filmmaking," and would probably reconsider being in a relationship WITH said SO. I understand that sometimes people don't have the confidence to step up and say, "That is disrespectful to me as a human," but if I were extremely interested in being a model, 5'9 and 110 lbs, and my significant other said I couldn't do it? I'd be really pissed. Luckily, I have a boyfriend who's an editor and understands the need to be in a creative profession. If modeling WERE my passion, I'm 99.99999% sure he'd be cool with it.